Another Beautiful Michigan Beach
Another Beautiful Michigan Beach

If you grew up in Michigan, you would probably take the beaches for granted because there are so many of them, and they are all special in their own way. This is the beach at Point Betsie Lighthouse near Onekema and Frankfurt. The beach is an interesting combination of sand and rocks. Just a few feet away from where I took this photo is a beautiful sugar sand beach. I can’t wait for summer and HORRORS, taking my laptop to the beach and working there while I’m baking in the sun.

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The Pictured Rocks are located in the Upper Peninsula (UP) in Munising, Michigan and are quite spectacular. It seems like everything in the UP is a little over the top and the Pictured Rocks are no exception. If you go there, you’ll probably want to take a boat tour.

Houghton MI
If you’ve never been to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, you really need to make the trip. It’s another world up there, a trip back in time. I took this in Houghton a few years ago with my film camera on an overcast day.

Some of my ancestry is from Cornwall, UK and were miners. One of the things I found fascinating about the U.P. was all of the mining history. This coming summer I plan on spending some mega time up there taking photos.

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This mermaid statue overlooks an area undergoing renovation at the third stage of a four stage trail project that will make it possible to go anywhere in the city by, biking, walking or skating–without having to go on roads. The trails wind along the river and beautiful wooded areas. Here’s a link to a a web page with information about Greenville’s various parks and trails.

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For those of you familiar with Greenville’s recent past, you may be surprised at what I found when I got the grand tour from their City Manager, George Bosanic. I wondered if I’d find a place struggling to get by with the exodus of their largest employer, Electrolux.

Instead, it is very clear that Greenville is an up and coming community that is “making lemonade out of lemons.” They are well on their way to completing ambitious plans to make it an even more wonderful place to live with the best of history, modern urban planning and the type of lifestyle a city with three lakes and a river running through it affords.

The picture you see here was taken on a road that winds along the edge of Baldwin Lake. I took it near Baldwin Beach, which is being renovated. Here’s a Google map link to the approximate area I took this photo. I’ll be posting pictures all week of the special places I found here.

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Here’s another picture that I took at Leslie Tassel Park in Cascade, Michigan. This was taken on a little dock that extends out into the river. Looking to the East, this is what you’ll see. From the west, is a view of the dam. More to come tomorrow.

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I was lost when I took this picture so I can’t give you a google map link to it. But, this was taken in the Kalkaska area, it might have been on M-72. One thing that surprised me was how absolutely beautiful this area is. I don’t know why that surprised me except that I’ve never heard Kalkaska mentioned as pretty.

That’s something Michigan has going for it. Even though a lot of places here don’t get much attention, it doesn’t mean they are lacking in the “spectacular” department. I’ll be heading for the Detroit area soon and would appreciate feedback from those of you who can give me suggestions for interesting places to show the world on the East side of the state. Just post it as a comment or send and email to me at ann@anntopia.com. Thanks!